Sensei, How About I Love You?
by Shimizu Hikaru
Summary: ...Three months of being tortured by the little kids could lead to an interesting outcome. Who know? AU, KaiShin eventually. Hi-status/ Dropped.
1. Chapter 1

"**Sensei, How About 'I Love You'?"**

**Summary**:…Three months of being tortured by the little kids could lead to an interesting outcome. Who know? AU, KaiShin eventually.

**Genre**: Family/Romance/Humor.

**Rate**: T (Just to be safe).

**Warnings**: no knowledge of how kindergarten in Japan works (…In fact, no ideas how kindergartens work at all *grins sheepishly*), AU, OC(s), OOC-ness, my shitty English. **And remember, this is not gender-bent fic. Just a forewarning.**

**Disclaim**: *gasps*…I've just realized that I own nothing…Shocking, isn't it? But it's true.

**A/N**:...*blows dust off a box in the darkest corner of her mind*…*sneezes*…Okay *sniffs*, this little piece is what I've wanted to write for a while. Romance at school~! Yay~! 'Sensei'…Ohhhh, that little kinky word~! Now, I've got my own shit about school's (kindergarten's) romance…have I even written Cross-dressing? Check yes. Then I suppose only Vampire fic left?...Did I miss something?...And well, I wrote this at like 1 am to around 2 am and so, excuse me for the suckiness ^^.

…

_Day 1: Hell started._

…

The birds were chirping loudly, the people were chattering loudly as they passed by and the kids were screaming loudly in the kindergarten's playing ground.

His left eye twitched.

"Sensei! He pulls at my hair!"

A vein popped up on his forehead.

"Sensei! He steals my ball!"

Another one joined in the first merrily.

"Sensei! She hits me!"

Another.

"Sensei! He's being a jerk again!"

Another.

"Sensei! He dirties my dress!"

"Alright!" he clapped his hands together and cried out, making all the little kids look at him funnily, but they silenced down immediately. The noisy playing ground suddenly drowned in silence, completely silence as big and innocent eyes were all focusing on their sensei.

A forced smile tugged at his lips, "…Play nice with each other or we're going back inside."

A chorus of 'Hai!' echoed and the young teacher sat back down on the doorstep that led to the classroom almost dejectedly. For around five minutes, the kids played quiet nice but then it started all over again.

"Sensei! She won't give me a kiss!"

"Sensei! My crayon!"

"Sensei! He's pulling on my hair again!"

It wasn't fair at all, he groaned, he was supposed to have a nice and awesome summer at a beach or somewhere equally nice, not spending his precious time with a bunch of snobby kids, damn it.

What would his college fellows say if they saw the brilliant student Kudo Shinichi sitting in front of a kindergarten's classroom sullenly, in a pink apron that had a white bunny printed on it?

He almost didn't want to know. Then his colleagues at the Police station too, where he spent most of his free time helping out with cases and cases, what would they say if they saw the Police's Savior, Modern Sherlock Holmes or Detective of The East babysitting a bunch of kids? And failing at it too.

No, he didn't want to know either.

A crayon hit the side of his head but Shinichi didn't bother to move, still sitting like status and wishing the playing time would be over already. A kid was crying to him, bawling her eyes out about how a boy had stolen her Mimi-chan and she was demanding him to go and rescue her stuffed toy.

…Mother…why am I stuck here and not some nice beach?

…wait, mother was the cause of this after all…he was so not going to talk to her however childish the thought of giving his mother silent treatment at the age of nineteen was. But Shinichi didn't care because she was the reason why he was stuck there and got snob on him…

…

"…_Pretty please, Shin-chan? Only three months!" Kudo Yukiko pleaded almost pitifully as her son who was giving her a blank look that clearly said 'no'._

"_You promised Nanami-san to help her with the job, not me," he stated, returning his attention back to the book on his laps._

"_But Shin-chan! It'd be a nice chance to learn how to cope with children too! It'll help you pretty much when you have children later!" Yukiko wailed childishly but Shinichi stood his ground._

"…_I don't like children, Kaa-san and again, no, I'm not filling in the job."_

…_For a moment, silence fell around them and Shinichi turned to look at his mother curiously…which he instantly regretted as she was staring at him with her most pitiful puppy eyes._

"_Kaa-san," he groaned, slapping the book over his face._

"…_Shin-chan…your father rarely gets a day off…and this summer in the only chance we can go and enjoy ourselves without worrying about the publishers chasing us over the world….Over twenty years marrying to him...Kaa-san has never got a completely nice vacation…"_

…_damn…when his mother used that act…Shinichi had no choice but giving in. Damn himself for being such a softie._

"…_Alright…I'll take the job…" he mumbled tiredly and didn't even react as Yukiko squealed loudly and enveloped him in her infamous bone-crushing hug._

"_The job will start next week, Shin-chan~! At seven AM!" Yukiko smiled brightly as she released her son, "Don't be late, kay?" and she bounced off the room, possibly going to find her darling husband and planning their vacation together._

"_I'll buy something for you, don't worry~!"_

…

And there he was, stuck being the kids' babysitter after two weeks.

Yup, two weeks had passed already and he was somewhat used to the job. It helped pretty much as the little girls adored him, heh, he had his charm, and the boys kinda looked up to him. But still, it didn't turn those monstrous kids into obedient and cute kids.

God helped him.

Shinichi groaned again as he looked at the clock, still thirty minutes left before the kids had to go back into the classroom.

He actually had a co-teacher too, Nanami-san but she was sick and he was the only teacher that day. Really, Nanami-san dealt with the kids better than him.

"Sensei…" a small kid tugged at his apron and Shinichi glanced down to see Ayumi was looking at him with wide eyes. The little girl had some kind of crush on him, he knew, and she was the only one he could tolerate.

The kid was a nice girl after all, almost every kid in the class liked her.

"…Kairi-chan is fighting again," she said, biting her lower lip and Shinichi sighed before smiling at her and patting her head gently.

"Thank you Ayumi, I'll deal with her," he said and stood up to look for the class' troublemaker, Kuroba Kairi. Two weeks working there already but none of the kids had captured his attention like this girl had. She had a brilliant mind and quiet intelligent for a five-year-old. Beside, she had his attention because not every five-year-old was as perverted as her and none of the kids picked fights quite as often as her.

Ayumi tagged along as the young teacher made his way toward the tree's root, where a small girl with short messy brown hair was fighting with two boys. And it looked like she was winning as a victorious grin was presenting on her face while her opposites were crying.

"Sensei! Help!" the boys cried and ran toward to hide behind him, the girl chased after them just to have herself picked up by the back of her shirt by a very tired-looking teacher.

"…Kairi…Could you please stop picking up a fight?" Shinichi asked and the girl's large violet eyes blinked at him innocently before a wide grin tugged at her lips.

"AH! How come we're at the first name base already, Shinichi-sensei?" she asked, arms came to wrap around Shinichi's neck tightly, "…Do I get to go home with you tonight too?" she asked coyly and Shinichi flushed up.

…What kind of parent she had, he wondered, that could have such perverted five-year-old daughter.

"No, Kairi, please do stop saying things like that…" he said, began to walk back to his sitting spot with the troublemaker still hang around his neck as Ayumi stayed behind ro comfort the two boys.

"…And the reason for the fight this time?" Shinichi asked and when the girl stiffened in his arms, he thought she wasn't about to answer and he started to worry that the fight was about something important or sensitive, unlike trivial things like before.

"….They successfully flipped my skirt," the girl finally mumbled against his neck, "Daddy's not gonna be happy to hear that…"

Now, he would love to meet this little girl's parents and have a nice talk about how to teach his daughter and about how the girl had been fighting these days. He was a kindergarten teacher for then and he'd do his job flawlessly.

"…Please tell your mother to come and see me tomorrow, Kairi," he said, finally sitting down on the doorstep again, the girl on his laps as she refused to let go of him.

"…Mother's never home," Kairi raised her head to look up at him sadly, "Daddy said she's on Heaven."

Shinichi was speechless and then he mentally cursed himself for being insensitive. But wait, how could he possibly know the girl's mother had died? But still…the pain in those violet eyes still made him feel so guilty. Most of little children didn't know meaning of death but it seemed, Kairi was an exception.

"…Then your father? Can he come?" he asked after finding nothing to say to comfort the girl. He wasn't good at dealing with children after all…especially emotional and hard to figured out children.

"…I don't know…he has work and he's only home at afternoon," the messy haired girl mumbled again, burying her face onto the young teacher's shoulder, "…Funnily though…Daddy looks a lot like you…"

"…Really?"

A mute nod against his shoulder.

"…Well…I'll walk you home after school, okay? I have something to discuss with your father…and I'd like to see how alike we are too."

"…Okay, that means I won't have to ride the cramped school bus, right?" the girl looked up excitedly and Shinichi chuckled, "Mh."

…

The walk with the little girl to his home was interesting as she kept talking about how awesome her father was, Shinichi found himself couldn't stop smiling when the girl show him some simple magic tricks her father had taught her. He had also learned that aside from being a troublemaker, Kairi was also an independent daughter.

Which made him quite eager to meet the father of this perverted but independent little girl.

Kairi led him up stairs of apartment building until they were standing outside of an apartment with a plate numbered 142 on it.

Kairi eagerly pressed the doorbell before turning to Shinichi happily, "Daddy should be home by now~!"

Shinichi nodded, smiling down at her just as the door was open and Kairi was lift up into a man's arms.

"Welcome home, mistress~!" the man cheered and hugged a giggling Kairi tightly. And Shinichi? He could only gasp at Kairi's father.

…the little girl certainly wasn't lying when she said her father looked a lot like him.

And then, Shinichi found himself staring at an equally young face of Kuroba Kairi's father.

…_Impossible! He looks only my age! There's no way he could be a father this young!_

"Daddy~! My teacher comes home with me too~!" the little girl's cheerful voice snapped Shinichi out of his stupor just in time to lock eyes with his doppelganger who was staring back with surprise.

But it only lasted for a brief moment before a grin tugged at the other's lips, now Shinichi finally knew where Kairi got her mischievous grin from, as he offered Shinichi his hand.

"Kuroba Kaito, this little mistress' father. Nice to meet you," and as Shinichi was hesitantly taking the offered hand, a small puff of smoke suddenly engulfed the hand, making Shinichi step back in surprise.

And when the smoke faded away, Shinichi found himself staring at the rose in the other's hand, "May I ask why her sensei is here? I hope she didn't cause trouble at school?"

A wink was thrown at him and Shinichi knew he shouldn't have followed Kairi home.

xxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxx

And actually, this was intended to be posted in my AU series but I have no idea why it's here…Now I've got like four stories going at once eh? And yes, I have no idea where this one will lead to either. Still hope you enjoy~!

If you enjoy it, please leave a word. It only takes you some minutes at best but it took me like hours to think and type this up, folks. Actually, that applies for other ficcies and authors too ^^. Authors live on reviews and feedbacks, I believe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning**: AU, OOC-ness and my shitty English. Oh, choppiness and silliness too~!

**Disclaim**:…Until now, I've only been borrowing the boys. And I think I'll be doing that for a long time cuz I don't own them or anything related to DC or MK.

**A/N**: I never really say where the kindergarten or Kaito's apartment locates, right? Well, please remember that Kaito's apartment and the kindergarten are somewhere in Beika too then ^^.

…

_Chapter 2: A Moment of Peace._

…

"Please come in," the young father said with an easy grin and Shinichi nodded, a bit too stiffly while Kairi was already rushing into the house.

The apartment was rather clean, small and homey with one small living room that connected to an equally small kitchen and two doors that Shinichi guessed were the bedrooms.

The young teacher took off his long brown coat and hang it on the hook.

The other pulled out a chair and grinned at him again, "Please sit down." And he complied without much thinking.

From his point of view, he could clearly see Kairi ran around the small kitchen, moving the stool along with her to be able to reach the things in the cupboard and the counters. And Shinichi had a vague idea of what she was doing.

But now, we shall go back to the main purpose of the young teacher coming there.

Shinichi blinked and sweat dropped as the young father, what was his name again, Kuroba Kaito, was it?, kept giving him a lop-sided grin which made him look kinda stupid, but Shinichi wasn't going to tell him that, because it'd be far too rude, much ruder than his usual blunt comments, Ran had told him so many times before.

"Uhm, Kuroba-san," he stated only to have Kuroba pouted at him, was he really a parent?

"Kaito is fine, sensei," the other grinned again and Shinichi almost wanted to run away from there at the way the word 'sensei' rolled off the other's tongue. Now, he was regretting wanting to see the perverted five-year-old's father.

"Kuroba-san," he began again, ignoring the displeased look the other was sending him, "I come to talk about Kairi's fights at school. She keeps picking up fights with the other children."

Violet eyes widened slightly, "…She's been picking up fights…?" and instantly, he disappeared from his seat opposite Shinichi to reappear in the kitchen, checking over Kairi for any injures…and no, neither I nor Shinichi knew how he could that fast.

The young teacher could only sit there silently as Kuroba came back with Kairi trailed after him and a tray of drinks in her hands.

Placing a cup of green tea in front of Shinichi, the small girl smiled, "I see you usually drink coffee but neither I nor daddy drinks it so we don't have any coffee in our house. Please have tea instead."

…Shinichi was feeling nervous, where did the bouncy and mischievous Kairi he knew? Where did this polite and so cute Kairi come from?

"…Thank you," even so, he still smiled back and the girl beamed before pulling a chair out to hop on it, sitting beside her father.

"Well," Kuroba spoke up again, "…She doesn't have any injures…so I take it that she's been winning too?"

A sip of his green tea, Shinichi seemed to calm down as he nodded, this time less stiffly than before.

Violet eyes slid from him to set on the small girl, who kept fiddling in her seat with a nervous expression on. For a moment, the father kept regarding his daughter with an amused look.

"Glad to know you win, mistress," Kuroba drawled out almost lazily, "But pray tell why? I've never taught you to fight with people, have I?"

"…You see, daddy," Kairi looked up, a lost puppy look on her face. Shinichi was already giving up any scolding he might have had at the expression, he was too much of a softie that could never withstand any kinds of puppy looks.

But fortunately, Kuroba wasn't affected in any ways as he raised an amused eyebrow, "Yes?"

"…It was because they successfully flipped my skirt," she said quietly, twisting her thumbs nervously.

Violet eyes narrowed, "…I believe we've practiced at home how to dodge those kinds of perverted attacks."

Shinichi wanted to cry, Kairi looked like she wanted to cry too. The young teacher wondered miserably what he had done to get dragged into this madness of the Kuroba.

"…I was distracted," the small girl confessed, "I was trying to yank this cute guy in my class's shorts down."

"Oh," the elder Kuroba blinked, "Did you succeed?"

Brightly, the small girl nodded, "Yup!"

"Good! That's my girl!" Kuroba cheered along before high-fiving with Kairi. Both father and son didn't really notice the poor teacher who was busy comforting his poor soul by telling it that his own parents were insane enough to make his life crazy and now, adding a bit more of madness wouldn't harm his sanity too badly…right?

"…It's five already, Kuroba-san, I believe I should be going home now," Shinichi sighed- great, why the heck did he want to do his job as a kindergarten's teacher flawlessly all of sudden?, before standing up and preparing to leave. But he didn't get far as Kairi pounced on his back and a grinning Kuroba was blocking his way.

"Sensei, how about staying for dinner with us?" the Kuroba chorused at the same time and before the young teacher could do anything, he was being led back to sit on the chair again.

"Just a few minutes sensei, I already have everything readied, we just need to wait for the rice," Kuroba said happily and Shinichi felt every getaway he had was closing down and he got no way out left.

"Daddy's an excellent cook, sensei! Just wait and see~!" Kairi cheered as she still hung on him, acting as something to tie the young teacher down in his chair.

Releasing a sigh as he knew he wouldn't be able to get away, Shinichi decided to just go along. Besides, his own house had been a bit too lonely these days…it wasn't as if he wasn't used to the silence but having dinner with someone once in awhile sounded nice.

…

"Itadakimasu~!" both Kuroba cheered as they clasped their hands together while the young teacher only rolled his eyes and mumbled the same under his breath.

"That's my dish~!" Kairi said happily, pointing at the rolled egg and Shinichi smiled, using his chopsticks to grab the food.

"Ah, is that so?" he asked, still smiling as he raised the food to his mouth, "I'll try it then…"

And he blinked as he chewed on the egg…it was good, not really delicious but tasty enough.

"…It's good," he said after having swallowing down the food and the small girl cheered. Kuroba had a small smile on his lips but he said nothing and for a brief moment, Shinichi thought the young father was sane as his gentle violet eyes looked at his daughter who was munching on her food. Just a brief moment before those eyes found his and threw a wink at him, Shinichi found himself looking away.

Then the two Kuroba chattered happily to each other while Shinichi ate silently. The family atmosphere was indeed comfortable, even though he wasn't talked to; Shinichi was content…Next time his parents were home, maybe he should suggest a family dinner…and invite these two over too.

Unconsciously, a small and content smile tugged at the young teacher's lips which made the two Kuroba stop chattering altogether to look at him with wide eyes.

Gulping, Kaito turned to Kairi and whispered to his daughter, "…Just like you said…He's indeed cute."

Kairi shot him a smug look, "I told you."

Then violet eyes locked before identical grins tugged at their lips.

"This means war," they declared at the same time, making Shinichi look up with a confused expression.

Blinking, the young teacher cocked his head to one side while looking at the father and daughter oddly, "…Did I miss something?"

"Not really, sensei," the Kuroba chorused, grinning at him and Shinichi felt like something was about to befallen on him.

…

Soon the dinner was over and as Shinichi offered to wash the dishes, he was refused immediately.

"Oh no, sensei, just leave them," Kaito waved his hand in dismiss and he quickly added when the young teacher was bout to protest, "And it's over six thirty already, sensei, I wouldn't want to stall you any longer."

Shinichi nodded reluctantly before sighing, "Well, I guess I'll be going then."

"Mh!" Kairi hopped on to hang on her father's neck, "We'll walk you to the bus stop. Won't we, daddy?"

"Indeed, we can't let our dear sensei walk alone, can we? What if someone attacks him?" Kaito continued and the two grinned at the sweat-dropping teacher.

"…I can take care of myself well enough, Kuroba-san," Shinichi sighed as he put on his coat.

The Kuroba protested immediately, "Nonsense! We'll walk you to the bus stop at least, sensei!"

And rule number one in Kuroba's rules: A Kuroba gets what he/she wants, that was why five minutes later, an amused Shinichi and singing Kuroba were walking down the staircase to get out of the apartment building.

The sky was dark already and the air was still a little hot, it was a typical summer night, Shinichi mused as he unconsciously unbuttoned three top buttons on his coat, not noticing the looks he got from his companions.

The rest of the trip to the bus stop was spent on talking about various things, and to Shinichi, it was more like the young father asked him some questions about his favorite food, drink, if he had a girlfriend yet, and he answered truthfully. Why not? He wasn't used to lie to people after all…well, unless the circumstance called for. But it made him confused that the young father especially took an interest in what classes he signed up.

Then the other laughed when he asked why, Kaito answered cheerfully, "So that I know, I can try to attend the same classes as you," a smirk, "I never know we go to the same university."

That got the young teacher speechless. So Kaito was really his age! Then…he had been a father since he was fourteen? What about Kairi's mother? Shinichi almost couldn't believe but he couldn't ask either…that was too much of a personal matter.

Finally they reached the bus stop just in time before the bus was leaving again.

Bowing a quick goodbye to the Kuroba, Shinichi quickly got on the bus and waved back as Kairi and Kaito waved at him cheerfully.

"See you tomorrow, sensei~!" both father and daughter called after him and Shinichi smiled, shaking his head as the bus rounded a corner, the two Kuroba disappeared from view.

Ah well, Shinichi sighed as he leaned against his seat, he had a nice evening, he supposed.

A wry smile tugged at his lips, he had to admit that he was a tad jealous at how well Kairi and her father got along. Suddenly his parents crossed his mind, he got along well enough with his own parents but still…guess he'd call his parents that night to ask how they were doing.

Mother was going to be surprised when he was the one calling and not her.

…

As soon as the front door of the apartment closed, Kaito knelt down before Kairi and cupped her face in his scarred and large hands.

"…Now, Kairi, tell me why you fight with the other," he said, violet eyes gleamed seriously.

"…I told you already," the girl mumbled and looked away.

Kaito sighed, he knew teaching Kairi about Poker Face at such young age was too early but…his father was a model for him to follow and he just did what his father had done. He got his own Poker Face at Kairi's age anyways.

"…I'm your father, Kairi, how about taking off the mask now? We're home," smiling warmly; he gently patted her chubby cheeks. The small girl's violet eyes instantly watered.

For a moment, she tried to hold the tears back but soon enough, she lost the battle as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. Her small body shook as she cried and Kaito felt his smile turned sadly as he hugged her tightly.

"…T-they s-said I don't h-have a mommy b-because mommy hates me," Kairi sobbed as she tightened her grip and Kaito felt his heart ache.

"Shh, they're just being stupid, you know mommy loves you," Kaito hushed gently, rubbing her back soothingly.

"…I-I know…" and Kairi mumbled back, still burying her face into his shoulder as her small frame trembled.

And for a long moment, the father and daughter just sat at the front door, hugging each other.

XxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxx

…the moment I wrote Shinichi thought Kaito was too young to be father, it means drama- cliché drama, folks, look forward it~!...for now, I shall stick with some more crack :3. Guess you all know who's the mother, eh ^^? And well, Kairi is just like a gender-bent and de-aged Kaito…guess I'm too lazy to create an OC v^^.

**I'll take turn to update my stories in order: Killer Doll, Forbidden, Teitan High School Host Club and finally this one ^^.** **And occasionally AU series. Though the order might get shuffled but then, the cycle will start all over again only once every story has been up.**

…Btw… is it true that the site mediafire is about to be closed like megaupload D:?


	3. Chapter 3

**Genre**: Family/Romance.

**Rate**: T (Just to be safe).

**Warnings**: AU, OC(s), OOC-ness, my shitty English.

**Disclaim**: Yadda yadda, I own nothing.

**A/N**: Whoa, thank you guys for taking time to read and review ^^. Hope I can write up to your expectations ^^. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well ^^.

This chapter is a bit messy so yeah v^^.

…

_Chapter 3: Things That Came and Refused to Go Away._

…

…It was still too early and yet, he was already hearing his daughter running around in the kitchen, Kaito groaned as he rolled over and hugged the pillow close to his chest. Usually, he didn't have any difficulty in waking up early but he had to stay up late- really late, the night before and he wouldn't mind sleeping in a little.

His work at the café, _'Memoirs'_, only started at 8 so there was no need to get up early, what time was it again? Cracking one eye open, the young father- part-time waiter and second year college student, looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand and he winced. It was only ten to six, that mean Kairi shouldn't be up yet. That little mistress often had to get yelled at and he had to drag her off the bed to the sink that she would barely awake, enough to splatter some water on her face. And then they would be running around to get ready for her before the school bus arrived

…If only she was a bit like her mother then he wouldn't have to wake her up, instead, it'd be her dragging him off the bed like her mother had always done before…little mistress took after him too much…If only she was still alive…

…_Aoko…_and he felt his heart clenched.

Burying his face into the pillow, Kaito released a long breath to unfasten the tightness in his chest and then, he nearly fell off the bed in startle when a loud crashing sound echoed in the mostly empty and small apartment.

What had she done now?

Hurriedly, Kaito untangled himself from the light cover to stumble off his room and then he made his way toward the kitchen, where the sound came from.

"Kairi?" sticking his bed-headed- wait, it was always the same, Kaito was pretty proud that no comb could compete with his unruly haired, heh- into the small room, he saw his little girl crouching down and gathering a mess of broken dish.

"Ah, daddy, sorry! Did I wake you up?" the girl looked up, her wide violet eyes blinked at him in innocently guilty. Of course she knew her daddy had stayed up late the night before and she was going to let him sleep for another fifteen minutes after all.

"It's okay," Kaito grinned at her then yawned widely, stretching himself before stepping fully inside to help the small girl clean the broken pieces.

"Why are you up anyway?" he questioned, picking the small pieces to place them into the bigger piece.

"I'm making breakfast for you to celebrate your loss," smiling brightly, Kairi bounced over to the counter to get a paper bag to throw the pieces into.

"…What?" the father blinked rapidly, pausing his task to look up at her in confusion.

"You see," Kairi began, still grinning her victorious grin as she held the bag out for Kaito to throw the pieces into.

"If I am a good girl, there's no reason for sensei to come over here anymore, thus you won't be able to make any move on him," her grin widened when he stared at her unblinkingly, obviously in shocking realization, "In the mean time, I get to see him everyday, from seven am to four pm, there's plenty of time for me to get closer to him."

And laughing, Kairi bounced off with the bag in her hand to the waste bin while all Kaito did was staring at nothingness.

…

"I'm off, daddy~!" Kairi called back as she grinned brightly at him before slamming the door close, leaving Kaito to mope with his breakfast.

"…I refuse to let my daughter get the better of me," and he muttered after awhile of staring at his food. There was just no way he'd let little mistress have the cute teacher, just no way. Daughter or not, he wasn't giving up his wooing subject for her.

Seriously, he loved her, yes, but still, he honestly wanted to have a chance with the young teacher. Kaito smiled a bit as the teacher came into his mind. Kairi had told him a lot about her new and handsome teacher- who also looked a lot like daddy, another reason for her to like Kudo-sensei, and Kaito wasn't really interested. But then, when he lay his eyes on the young teacher, something just clicked… he could only guess that was what they called 'love at first sight'. Heh, he wasn't even sure if he liked Kudo-sensei that way or it was merely an interest, but he was willing to give it a try, only time could tell if the young teacher was who he was looking for…

…to fulfill his promise with her…

"_BaKaito!" she was crying, "You don't have to take responsibility! I can deal with it!" her hands balled into fists by her sides, "It's just a mistake! A mistake!"_

_And all he could do was hugging her tightly, "…Go find someone you really like, someone you can't live without, Kaito…I…love you so much…I don't want to be a burden to you…"_

_Sobbing, she embraced him back just as tightly, or even tighter as she continued to cry._

…_They were only fourteen at that time, when she experienced her first mood-swing._

Sighing as he pushed the omelet around in his dish, Kaito looked up at the framed picture that was placed on the fridge's top- which was showing a messy haired girl that looked no older than 14 with a small lump in her stomach was smiling at the camera, a small smile tugged at his lips.

"You'll root for me, right? Ahouko?" and whispering, he did, to no one at all, "Or will you root for little mistress?"

…

"And the little bird flies freely~~~," the kids clapped their hands together as they chorused the last line of the song.

Their teachers smiled at them, or to be exact, one was smiling at them and the other was trying- and failing, to smile at them.

"Nice work, everyone," Nanami Higurashi cheered first and the kids cheered after her excitedly. The long brown haired woman then swept her eyes over the class room then they set on a messy brown haired girl.

Nanami-san looked at the troublemaker nervously as she sat still in the seat and grinned at her brightly.

The woman of the age 34 smiled back at her awkwardly then glanced at Shinichi. And of course, our beloved Modern Holmes- temporary kindergarten's teacher and second year college student, was staring out the window with a grumpy look, he wasn't able to have his daily coffee that day due to him getting up late and thus for the distant and sullen look.

The woman sighed, Shinichi had rushed into the kindergarten that morning and then hastily thrown the apron on and Nanami-san just knew that he wouldn't be any of help until it was playing time, when he could go and have a cup of steaming black coffee,

Honestly, Shinichi was a great help, even though he was often showed being annoyed with the kids, he could handle them quite well and the kids kinda adored him a lot and so, they actually listened to him most of the time.

Then again, Nanami-san shook her head, the problem at hands was why Kairi hadn't started anything yet. Not that she wasn't grateful but her quietness was beginning to get to her…and with Shinichi momentarily spacing out like this…Nanami-san sighed again.

…Sometime she did wonder if Shnichi was really her friend, Yukiko's son or not.

Then she mentally smacked her forehead for even thinking so, of course Shinichi was Yukiko's and Yuusaku's son.

…Just twenty more minutes, she then reminded herself, only twenty more minutes and it would be half-past nine- playing time and Shinichi would have his coffee and there would be someone to deal with Kairi-chan, an old woman like her wouldn't be able to put up with whatever the little girl was scheming, Nanami-san was sure.

…Oh how she wished the time would move faster.

"Alright, should we go for another song?" she asked and the kids clapped happily.

…

…it was finally the playing time, Shinichi sighed in relief as he dragged his feet out the playing ground, carefully avoiding the kids that were eagerly rushing outside.

The detective/teacher glanced at Nanami-san and he smiled when she gave him a nod and signaled him to go to his coffee.

He could finally have his beloved coffee, another sigh and Shinichi made his way toward the staffs' room. Then he stopped in his track when quiet footsteps could be heard following him.

Turning his head over his shoulder, Shinichi blinked as he saw Kairi grinning at him brightly.

"…Yes?" he turned around completely and Kairi happily ran toward to hop up and cling to Shinichi's neck.

"I like you, sensei," the small girl said, burying his face into the young teacher's shoulder.

"…Uhm," Shinichi blinked, not really knowing what to say back, "…I'm glad?"

"You should be," Kairi nodded as her chin dug in and out Shinichi's shoulder and her hair tickled the older boy's cheek, "You're only placed second to daddy."

"Really?" raising an eyebrow, Shinichi turned around to walk to the staffs' room again with Kairi hanging on him tightly, "…You really love him huh?"

"Daddy's the bestest~!" Kairi laughed and Shinichi chuckled.

"I'm offended," Shinichi joked, "That's I'm not as loved as he is."

And before he could do anything else, someone tackled him from behind and Shinichi only had enough time to release a surprised yelp and wrap his arms around Kairi to prevent her from falling.

"Nice to see you again, sensei~!" the person quickly steadied them all with ease and said cheerfully into Shinichi's ear.

"…Kuroba-san?" turning his head around slightly, the arms that wrapped themselves around his middle and strong chest pressed tightly against his back stopped him from moving too much, Shinichi blinked.

"That'd be me," Kuroba Kaito grinned before untangling himself from Shinichi and making a red rose to offer the young teacher who glanced at it but then ignored it. But Kaito didn't mind as he placed the rose behind his own ear.

"What are you doing here?" Shinichi asked, glancing back and forth between Kaito and Kairi as the father and daughter glared at each other challengingly.

"Ah, I'm working at a café nearby so I thought I'd drop by to say thank you," Kaito explained easily, linking his hands behind his head as he continued to grin, "For letting me know about Kairi's fights."

"It was nothing, Kuroba-san. I was merely doing my job," Shinichi replied pleasantly then cocked his head to one side in question, "Do you mean that Memoirs café?"

Kaito beamed brightly at him, but his eyes were smirking at Kairi, which Shinichi noticed but decided against commenting on it.

"That's the one~."

A smiled tugged at the young teacher's lips, "I like the coffee there a lot."

"Aww, really? I'd be sure to bring you some tomorrow," Kaito winked and Shinichi blinked while Kairi's eyes widened.

And as the small girl opened her mouth to protest, Kaito quickly added, "There're certain rules, sensei and one of them is that the hard-working waiter can get free drink there."

He empathized on 'certain rules', 'hard-working' and 'can get'…which made Kairi glared at him sulkily but shut her mouth up otherwise.

"…But it'd be too much trouble for you, Kuroba-san," Shinichi shook his head, "You don't have to."

"But I insist, sensei," Kaito grinned, "Besides, it's my own choice."

…

His head mentally high-fived with himself as the teacher simply smiled back, "If you insist then."

Then he bowed slightly, "So, excuse me then, Kuroba-san."

"Ah, yes," Kaito smiled at him and the young teacher glanced at him one last time before continuing on his way.

His little girl's chin was placed on the teacher's shoulder as she glared back at him, pouting slightly.

And Kaito held up a victorious sign, which immediately made Kairi stick her tongue out at him before she giggled and he laughed quietly.

Of course, there were certainly unspoken rules in the war between them and one of them was that 'No interfere with whatever the other is doing and play fair.' Which mean little mistress had no room to protest his visits, all she could do was to try harder.

Sighing contently to himself, Kaito made his way back to the café- his short break was about to end, and while bowing a good bye to the female teacher, Kaito mentally planned out his moves.

_Let's see, little mistress, who shall win…_

…

The next morning, Kairi woke up to Kaito's special method of waking her up like usual and as she yawned and walked into the kitchen, still clad in her bunny nightshirt, she saw Kaito was already there, cooking breakfast.

And then, her eyes found the picture of her mother on top of the fridge, her eyes softened and she put her head on her folded arms, continuing to gaze at the picture of the smiling girl. A small content smile tugged at her lips.

Then violet eyes widened as she looked at the clock that was hang above the fridge,

It was already six thirty five! And the school bus arrived at six forty five!

"Ah! Daddy! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" she particularly shouted as her small legs raced into the bedroom so that she could change into the kindergarten's uniform.

"Relaaaaaaaaaax~!" Kaito called after her cheerfully, "I'll take you to the school today."

And Kairi froze.

Sticking her head into the kitchen, the small girl's big innocent eyes stared at Kaito.

"…What?"

Looking back at her with a cheeky grin, Kaito replied almost boredly, "You always complain about the bus being cramped so I figured I'll take you to school myself."

"You liar!" Kairi huffed, "You're doing this just to see sensei!"

"Oh," Kaito shrugged before placing two dishes of omelet down on the table, "Thanks for pointing that out,"

"Daddyyyyyyyy," Kairi whined as Kaito sat down and dug into his meal.

"That's me," Kaito grinned, "Come one, eat your breakfast quickly."

And Kairi complied with a pout.

…

"Here you go, sensei," Kaito grinned brightly and handed Shinichi a paper cup of black coffee and the young teacher took it gratefully, ignoring the red rose that was pinned along with the cup.

It'd been over a week since Kaito had started to bring coffee over to Shinichi at playing time and he was used to the roses or flowers bonus that always came along with the coffee. Then the young father would stay for chit chat for ten minutes before he left for work again. The little kids liked him a lot too.

The first time Kaito came around when Shinichi was there with the children, the kids had formed a circle around their beloved teachers and shouted at Kaito being Shinichi's clone came and took their teachers away. Shinichi wondered why the kids would think Kaito was a bad guy and then he caught Kairi smirking at her father too.

But then, with only two or three simple tricks, Kaito had the kids wrapped around his finger.

And Shinichi didn't know since when during those past days that he stopped having coffee the moment he opened his eyes to wait for the heavenly coffee that Kaito brought for him. He had always loved Memoirs' coffee after all and got to drink it everyday was just…great.

The only thing made Shinichi confused was that Kairi tried to interrupt their talks as best as she could without actually showing that she wanted to interrupt them. The small girl had been quite good these days too, she had stopped picking up fights but the yanking the boys' shorts down was still there.

Kaito would then come again after the school to take Kairi home and the three of them always ended up going for ice creams or snacks before the Kurobas would actually go home. And after each time, Shinichi felt his house suddenly became bigger that it had been. Too empty and silent after hours of hearing both Kaito and Kairi chatting happily about endless things.

…then he wondered since when had the two of them came, then refused to go away and ended up making their home in his daily life. And from 'Kuroba-san,' it turned into 'Kuroba' and finally, Shinichi found himself calling the young father 'Kaito'. Really, how someone could make people become relax with them so fast was beyond Shinichi.

…Not that he minded though…

Shinichi smiled as he waved to the Kurobas, who were waving cheerfully at him as they got into the bus.

"See you tomorrow~!" the father and daughter yelled back and Shinichi merely nodded.

Sighing contently, Shinichi put his hands into his pants' pockets before turning away to walk home.

…Tomorrow.

…

Another week had passed and everything went on normally for Shinichi…if he decided to ignore the quiet auras that the father and daughter possessed.

Kairi had even stopped trying to interrupt their talks and get all Shinichi's attention to her, instead, she only clung to him tightly. Kaito still brought coffee over to him regularly but sometimes, he didn't start any kind of chit chat, only settling on standing at the kindergarten's gate and looked away distantly. And Shinichi didn't dare to say a word, all he could do was tending to the kids and looked at the lonely figure at the gate now and then- too often, in truth, afraid if he looked away for too long, Kaito might end up disappearing into thin air.

And Kairi was always there with her father, hanging on him tightly, even her playful jokes on her fellow friends had been toned down, not enough to make people suspect but enough for Shinichi to make sure it was there, the sadness.

But when the young teacher got enough courage and was annoyed- anxious, enough, he decided to just ask.

"…What's wrong with both of you?" Shinichi said, leaning against the gate and folding his arms at his chest.

Kaito turned to him, blinking and the small girl cocked her head to one side, looking at him funnily.

"…Nothing sensei," Kaito smiled good-naturally, then instantly changed the subject.

And that was what made Shinichi frustrated the most. They always avoided his questions.

…Then one day, Kairi came to school alone. No Kaito trailed after her to grin at him, no Kaito stayed for a bit to bug him, no Kaito at all.

"He's fine, sensei," Kairi smiled to reassure him and Shinichi could only nod. Maybe he was busy…

…still, a funny feeling of emptiness made itself known to him.

Sighing, Shinichi crouched down to wipe the snob off Genta's nose and willed his mind to stop thinking about the young father…Hm, maybe the case Megure-keibu had sent over the night before would help. Or he should just help the kids with the pictures they were destroying by coloring them.

"…I've come to take Kairi, sensei," a booming voice said behind him and Shinichi calmly turned around to look at the doorway.

And blinked.

"…Nakamori-keibu?"

The man blinked back, "Kudo-kun? What're you doing here?"

"Hahaha," the detective/temporary teacher stood up and pointed at the apron, "Can't you see? I'm considering a change in career."

Ginzo laughed and Shinichi found himself chuckling along.

"…Just wait and see until I tell the people at the police station, the female polices will surely love this news," the old inspector grinned and Shinichi sweat dropped.

"Anyway," Ginzo coughed into his fist, "Where's Kairi?"

"Eh? What are you to her?" Shinichi blinked.

And before then old inspector could reply, a small ball of energy shot herself up to hug him around the neck tightly.

"Grandpa~!"

"…Good morning, Kairi," the old man said warmly and patted her back gently, "Shall we go then?"

"…Yep," and the small girl pulled away to turn around and grin at Shinichi, "I'm going then, sensei."

"But wait," Shinichi frowned, "You're not supposed to take the student away in middle of class, inspector."

"Ah, it's okay, Shinichi-kun," Nanami-san spoke up hurriedly and Shinichi turned around to look at her questioningly.

"It's okay for Kairi-chan to go with him," the woman smiled.

"Do Kaito know about this? Kairi is his daughter after all," Shinichi commented and then, he instantly regretted as Nanami-san stiffened and when he turned back to Ginzo, the man was gritting his teeth in suppressed anger.

"…Don't ever mention that brat's name in my presence, Kudo-kun," The inspector said, barely keeping his temper in check, "Anyways, I'm going."

With that, the man turned to walk away, Kairi mouthed a 'sorry' to him over her grandfather's shoulder and Shinichi smiled back at her.

When the inspector and the small girl disappeared from his view, Shinichi turned back to Nanami-san with a question look.

The woman sighed, "Kairi-chan's mother died when giving birth to her, Shinichi-kun. That's why Nakamori-keibu hates Kuroba-san."

"…How old was Kairi's mother?" and he asked attentively.

"Fourteen. And today, she should turn 19."

…

That day, Kaito didn't come over at the playing time, which worried Shinichi a great deal.

That was why he asked Nanami-san if he could go out for a while, the woman nodded, seemingly to understand.

And to the Memoirs café, Shinichi went.

"Ah, Kuroba-kun always takes today off," the waitress replied as she prepared the drinks to be brought out, "Today and a few days in a year too."

"…Then do you know where he could be?"

"Nope," the girl flashed him a grin, "If you'll excuse me, I don't want my paycheck to be cut off again this month."

"Ah, sorry for stalling you," Shinichi bowed apologetically before stepping aside for the girl to pass.

"Maybe he's home!" the girl called back, throwing a smile at his direction and Shinichi yelled a 'thank you' after her.

…A trip to the Kuroba's apartment then.

xxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxx

**To D-chan**: Aww, really? I'll try to up more often though ^^. And I'm not dropping my fics, don't worry :D~!

Whee, we're getting into the drama~!

I'm so sorry1 the time is limited and I can't really reply to you guys right now! I'll do it soon enough though ^^~!


	4. Chapter 4

**Genre**: Family/Romance.

**Rate**: T (Just to be safe).

**Warnings**: AU, OOC-ness, my shitty English.

**Disclaim**: I own nothing.

**A/N**: Thank you guys for taking time to read and review ^^. I also thank you guys for favoriting and putting this on alert too! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well ^^. _**Please read the note at the end!**_

…

_Chapter 4: A Trip in Memory Land._

…

…The first stop was the ice cream shop that she loved so much.

He stopped at the front door, taking in the familiar scene that he had seen almost every day before because of her carving for the sweet and cold treat, which he always got something from it, namely eating ice cream along with her without getting scolded for eating too much sugar.

Walking in, the messy haired boy flashed the female cashier a grin before ordering two cones, one chocolate and one vanilla.

The girl behind the counter smiled and handed him his orders before voicelessly, she took the white rose he offered and placed it in a glassy cup that she seemed had been prepared.

"Thank you, Keiko," he bowed slightly and the girl cocked her head to one side, her own smile turned a bit sad.

"No problem, Kaito-kun," she said and nodded a good bye to him.

"See you around then."

"Yeah."

…

He wasn't home, Shinichi stared at the door for a long moment then sighed and turned around to walk back to the kindergarten. With his hands in his pants' pockets, the temporary teacher walked away nonchalantly but deep inside, his stomach churned at every thought of what Kaito would probably be suffering right then. He knew Kaito would be sad- who wouldn't? That day was his 'wife's birthday after all, but how sad? He had no idea.

Shinichi sighed again, he had seen deaths, numerous times and he had seen how the victims' loved ones cried for them but he had never experienced it personally and he wondered how Kaito dealt with it, the pain of losing someone precious, he mean.

"Oh, you're home, Kuroba-kun?" a woman that was walking in his direction blinked at him. Right, he did look a lot like Kaito- or so Kairi said every now and then, the woman must be mistaken.

"Ah, no ma'am, I'm Kudo Shinichi," he smiled and bowed slightly, the woman blinked some more before she smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "You do look like him at the first glance but…" she giggled, "Kuroba-kun's hair can never stay down neatly like that."

And all Shinichi could do was smiling back while pictures of Kaito's untamable hair then to Kairi's less messy but still unruly hair flashed across his mind, and some complains from the small girl too, who always grumbled about getting the stupid genes of messy haired.

"Uhm, ma'am," he asked again, politely and the woman turned to him questioningly, "Do you know where he can be? Kuroba, I mean."

She then frowned as if to remember something before shaking her head, "I don't know, Kudo-san," and she quickly added as Shinichi's face fell, "But I think I remember him saying something about the ice cream shop down the corner."

"Thank you!" Shinichi bowed at her again before turning on his heels and walking off swiftly.

The old woman only shook her head before fixing the key into her apartment's lock, all the while muttering something about 'young man and his complicated life.'

…

…In the end, he ended up eating both of the cones he had bought, Kaito laughed quietly to himself while continuing to walk with his hands linking behind his back.

And to the park, he went.

It was one of her favorite places and she had said because she was carrying another life with her, so she would need more fresh air and their cramped apartment back then couldn't provide her that.

But he doubted that. Cramped that their small apartment had been but he had made sure to get one with large window that allowed air in easily, making the bedroom was more than comfortable. Besides, his wonderful mother had come around everyday back then too, to make sure that she got the best treatments for pregnant woman- or pregnant girl, in her case (she had been so young in his memory and his chest hurt when he remembered her youthful and childish face with teary eyes and Nakamori Ginzo's angered expression when he announced that he had never had a daughter named Aoko).

And no, she still insisted that they came to the park every now and then.

He had never understood back then, but he could now, when he was sitting on one of the park's benches and watched as the small children laughed and ran around with their smiling mothers trailing behind them.

And he wondered if she had thought of her own mother or the child in her back then.

For a long moment, he just sat there, watching everything in his sight before giving a sigh and standing up, pinning a white rose to the nearby tree.

…Now, to the next place.

…

Shinichi jogged down the street in a hurried manner and when the mentioned ice cream shop was in his sight, he suddenly felt so stupid.

Seriously, what the hell was he doing? Why would he go that far to find Kaito since he had already promised himself to go back to the kindergarten if Kaito wasn't home?

…and all he could do was blaming whatever was possessing him, really, something in him just kept nagging at him to find Kaito, to talk to him and he'd find out something. At that, the young teacher mentally whacked himself, _stupid Shinichi, you weren't in a drama movie._

Releasing a sigh, Shinichi turned to walk into the ice cream shop but stopped as soon as he saw his reflection…No wonder that woman mistook him for Kaito, Shinichi blinked, because with his hair all messed up- not as messy as Kaito's, of course, because of the wind, he looked a lot more like Kaito.

"Kaito-kun?" see what he mean?- Shinichi quickly looked up to see the blond girl behind the counter gave him a strange look before she said something to the man beside her and then walked to him.

And just as he was about to correct her, the girl beat him to it with her worried question, "Shouldn't you be in the park?"

…The park? "Ah, miss, it looks like you're mistaken, I'm not Kuroba," he smiled and bowed at her, making her blink.

With her index finger, the girl pushed her big glasses up and leaned in to inspect him closely, which made Shinichi shift uncomfortably.

After a moment, she pulled back with a smile, "Of course you're not him, I'm sorry mister," and she bowed before straightening up again, "Are you, by any chance, Kudo-sensei? Kairi's teacher?"

"…that would be me. Kudo Shinichi, nice to meet you."

"Oh! Fantastic! I've always wanted to meet you ever since Kairi-chan and Kaito talk so much about you whenever they come here to whine for free ice creams," she clasped her hands together brightly, "And aren't you the famous high school detective? Oosp," giggling, Keiko clasped a hand over her mouth, "I mean, you're in college now…"

"But anyways! I'm going to be a famous journalist so will you let me do an interview with you then?" she continued excitedly and Shinichi stepped back nervously but he smiled back anyways.

"Ah, I'm flattered, and that sounds fine to me," then silence fell around them, until the girl scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "Sorry, I haven't told you my name, have I?" and when he shook his head, she bowed again, "Just call me Keiko."

"Keiko-san," Shinichi nodded, "So you know the Kuroba?"

She giggled, "Yup, pretty much, I was Kaito's classmate and Kairi-chan is my, you can say, she's my God daughter since her mother and I were quite close…" she trailed off at the mention of her deceased friend, looking down sadly.

"…I'm sorry…" Shinichi said quietly and the girl shook her head.

"It's been five years already but you know…it's just like it was yesterday we discussed the name for her baby…" hazel eyes became misty and Keiko choked down a sob, "…But you know what…I think Kaito's the one who's hurting the most…He's always blaming himself for her death even though he has nothing to do with it…"

"…What do you mean…?"

"…Oh," Keiko blinked then shifted as she realized that she had just told a stranger something she shouldn't, "…Eh, that…it's Kaito's story to tell, not mine, I'm so sorry, Kudo-san."

"…I understand," he nodded, "Do you know where I can find him then?"

"Uhm, he should be in the park…It's one of the places he'll visit this day every year…"

"Thank you," he replied, "See you later then."

Keiko nodded happily, "Of course, you can always come here, I'll have free ice cream for you. And just to let you know, we have coffee and lots of other drinks too."

"Ah, I'll keep that in mind. Good bye then, Keiko-san."

And with that, he turned on his heel, walking swiftly to where the park was located

…

"Fancy seeing you here, Kuroba-kun," the beautiful girl with long reddish hair smirked as she greeted him.

"Yeah yeah," he grinned in respond then looked around the bakery, the staffs were all moving around in silence and an old couple was talking to each other while pointing at a small cake, "What are you doing here anyways?"

And he was met with silence.

Turning his attention from the nicely decorated cake that was on displayed, Kaito raised an eyebrow as the girl looked at him in silence.

"…Today's her birthday," and finally, the girl spoke up, "We weren't really close back then but…even after her death," she ignored the way his eyes narrowed at the 'death' word, "We've become quite close friends."

The girl smiled distantly, "We've just had tea with each other and she's quite a great chat partner."

He blinked, "Really?"

"Yes, really," she confirmed, "She wants me to tell you that she's fine, the place she's currently staying is nice."

"…That's great…" he smiled softly, because even if it sounded crazy and creepy, hearing that made him happy, seriously, even though he didn't believe in it but still…

"Also," the girl continued, one hand ran through her long hair, "She wants you to stop blaming yourself, it wasn't your fault, it was her decision…" she trailed off, and her voice suddenly turned into a soft whisper, "She wants you to find happiness, Kuroba-kun…"

And while she continued to look at him with those keen eyes, he sucked in a deep breath, his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

"Alright, alright!" but it was only for a brief moment before the next moment, he was grinning again, holding his hands up, "Everyone keeps telling me so! I get it! I'm not blaming myself!" he cheerfully replied and when she raised an eyebrow, Kaito dropped his hands to his sides again, sighing.

"…Thanks, Akako," the cheerful grin turned into a smile, "…Please tell her that I'll fulfill our promise…"

"…I will," the girl, Akako, nodded, "Shouldn't you be choosing a cake for her now then?"

"…Right."

"Miss, this is your order," a girl approached Akako, smiling as she handed the reddish haired girl a paper bag with the bakery's name on it.

"Thank you," Akako nodded then headed for the door, but before she was gone completely, she turned around with a smirk, "By the way, Nakamori-chan likes the teacher. And she's rooting for her little girl, just so you know."

And Kaito's head snapped up with wide eyes but Akako was already gone.

…

The park was full of people but sadly, none of them was the one he was looking for.

Shinichi sighed and reached into his coat's pocket for the phone as he had felt the quiet buzzing sound earlier.

'Don't worry about the kids, I've got everything under control here, Shinichi-kun. Just continue what you're doing.'

From Nanami-san.

Shinichi groaned- _what the hell?_

And he turned around to walk off again, this time, promising himself to go back to the kindergarten. It was over three pm already and he had just spent two hours running around aimlessly, nice.

With that, he was determinate but still…

Turning back to his phone, Shinichi composed a quick, 'I'm going back.' To Nanami-san but just as he was about to press 'send', someone walked past him- a girl, he guessed because their long reddish haired brushed past him airily, and said quietly.

"He should be on his way to the Clock Tower now."

Startling, Shinichi's head snapped up and he whipped around but all he could see then was the back of her in a far distance.

The first thing came into his mind then was 'Creepy' then her words followed suit.

…The Clock Tower? Shinichi furrowed his eyebrows together, that place was in Ekoda district, an hour by train from here…Should he go?

For a moment, Shinichi continued to debate with himself then a chuckle escaped his lips. Who was he kidding? He had spent two hours chasing Kaito's footsteps and what harm going to Ekoda could make?

And so, to the train station, the detective/temporary teacher went.

…

…He decided not to light the candles yet because the wind up on the roof top was too harsh for the fragile fires to live.

Instead, he settled with placing the cake beside him while he himself leaning against the railing, eyes looking at the far away horizon. It was beautiful, the sunset, he mean. The sun was going down, only a few streaks of light were left behind, a few but enough to light up a corner of the sky.

…She loved it there, they had first met at the Clock Tower and her fourteen birthday had also been celebrated there and so, he decided to make the place the last place to come in her birthday.

Looking longingly at the dimly lit sky for the last time, Kaito then turned back to the cake.

Sitting down crossed legs, Kaito smiled as he picked the lighter up. When the nineteen candles were all lit up, Kaito closed his eyes and whispered.

"…I know you love wishing time but you know what," his lips quirked up, "You're not here to wish and because you decide to root for little mistress, I decide to get this wish. Can you give it to me?"

He paused, as if to wait for the reply and when none came, he simply continued.

"Well…I have nothing to wish for…But little mistress needs," he snickered, "She would wish for her hair to be less messy, y'know. It's really good that she got your hair, at least your hair can be tamed down but mine can't, sadly."

"Oh, have I told you about Kairi's teacher? But maybe you've already known him huh? But well, he looks a lot like me, but his hair is a monster, you know, because it can stay neat all the freaking time, I seriously wonder ho-"

Three knocks snapped Kaito out of his ramble and as the young father looked up, Shinichi was standing there, leaning against the door frame while his knuckles were still resting against the door.

"Ah-ah, sorry to interrupt," the young teacher raised an eyebrow as Kaito looked at him, confused, "May I come in?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," ignoring the question, Shinichi stepped fully onto the rooftop and walked straight toward Kaito.

"For get it," Kaito smiled, "How do you know I'm here?"

Shinichi sat down across Kaito, "Have you forgotten? I'm not exactly just a kindergarten teacher, I'm a detective kindergarten teacher."

"…Right," Kaito nodded to himself.

""So well, aren't we here to wish her a happy birthday?"

"We are," Kaito nodded again.

"…Well then," Shinichi closed his eyes, "Happy birthday, Nakamori-san."

And as Shinichi said those words, Kaito found himself staring at the young teacher.

…_See Aoko? He's cute as I told you, right?_

…

"…Her name's Ahouko," Kaito chuckled bitterly as he dropped his head into his folded arms on the railing, "Because she's stupid Aoko…She always said that little mistress was a mistake, a mistake only and yet," he sucked in a deep breath, "…She chose to die for that mistake…"

"…I'm sorry for that," Shinichi said quietly, one hand came to pat Kaito's trembling shoulder gently.

"Mh, you know, the whole thing led to little mistress can be summed up like, I'm her best friend, then she told me she loved me and I told her that I couldn't love her back because I'm gay then bam, little mistress is here now…"

Kaito snickered humorlessly while Shinichi looked utterly confused.

"That…" the young teacher finally spoke up, "…Doesn't make any sense. At all."

"…Really?" Kaito laughed for real this time, lifting his head up to look at Shinichi, "It doesn't, I guess…Well, you see, it was a nice after noon…"

And Kaito started his tale.

xxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxx

Wheeee…I finally get this done…

**Note!**

_**So, as you can see, I've been taking a really long time to get a chapter done so well, as I said somewhere, I can only blame the facts that my laptop is gone and having too many ficcies in my hands at once isn't good. It makes me a mess and I can't write when I'm a mess and so…If you guys care and want to read more, please vote. Vote the story you want me to focus on. From now on, I'll focus on finishing one story before continuing the others so well, to my profile please, I'll set a vote there ^^. The stories can be voted are: **_Killer Doll; Sensei, How About I Love You?, A God for Valentine_**. Teitan High School Host Club and AU, AU and AU will be up when I get the muses for them back but Teitan High School Host Club is seriously on the brim of being dropped…I'm sorry!**_

Thank you for reading this far ^^~!


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning: **OOC-ness, AU, unbeta-ed, choppiness and silliness.

**Disclaim: **Nope.

**A/N: **Thanks guys for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and putting this on alert ^^~! So, it's official, I'll be finishing this story before continuing the others :D.

…

_Chapter 5: Let's Continue!_

…

…_It was a nice and warm afternoon, birds were chirping from somewhere in the trees' layers of leaves. The shadows on the ground seemed to dance aimlessly whenever the leaves moved gently along with the wind._

_The girl's face was burning brightly as she looked down nervously at her feet while her hands linked behind her back…She looked so small in her slightly over-sized uniform._

_And the boy's face was blank, yet, his indigo eyes were a bit downcast, a small detail that one would miss were they not searching for it._

"…_Aoko, I…" he began and the girl looked up, half in fear and half in hope._

"…_I'm sorry," only two words and then, she was taking small steps back, eyes opened widely as he swallowed hard._

"…_I can't, Aoko…I'm gay." The last words were barely a whisper then silence claimed them._

…

…That afternoon would forever haunted him, Kaito knew.

Sighing, the nearly man stretched on his bed then rolled over and hugged the pillow against his chest, completely ignoring the beeping noise his alarm clock was making.

A few streaks of light managed to get through the curtains and he also ignored it.

…Despite what people kept telling him, he still felt responsible for her death and it seemed Nakamori Ginzo agreed with him…the only thing they seemed to have in common these days, heh.

The night before, Kaito had meant to avoid the old inspector but it seemed Lady Luck had been on vacation that time , it must be the reason why Ginzo had brought Kairi home earlier than he usually did. And thus, they faced at the bottom of the staircase led to the young father's and daughter's small apartment.

The unwanted meeting had been really amazingly awkward, no, seriously, because it had been such a long time since he had last seen the old man. Years, probably, ever since he had kicked Aoko and Kaito out of his house that day.

Ginzo had simply snarled at him but said nothing to him, leaving Kaito to stand there and turning to Kairi, his face had immediately softened.

Well, Ginzo had lost two women of his life and of course he was hurt and Kaito knew he was just directing all his love to his little girl's little girl.

Then he had stood there, watching the old man walk away, his lone back moved farther and farther until Kaito couldn't see him anymore.

And only when small a small hand had slipped into his lax one that Kaito had torn his eyes away to look down at the small girl. Kairi had been looking up with a sad smile and sad eyes that made his heart throb.

She was only five years old, she shouldn't have had that expression on her face, she shouldn't be forced to be mature beyond her age…

"…Let's go home, daddy," her voice had been soft, small and he had nodded, letting her guide them both back to the apartment.

Back to the moment, Kaito finally decided that it was enough angst for a day- the father and daughter had promised each other to never be sad, and so, he rolled over, slamming on his alarm clock to shut it up.

…It was time for a new day. Now, let's go wake little mistress up or she would be late for school.

And school mean teachers and teachers reminded Kaito of the day before. A small smile tugged at his lips.

…

"Oh shit," Shinichi cursed quietly as he ran down the street, "I'm so late! Please move!"

He yelled at the people on street they quickly parted way for the running boy who looked like he was in a real hurry- which was the case.

Shinichi swore that it wasn't his fault that he was late that day, seriously, blaming it on the murderer, who decided that that day was the best day to kill someone. Solving the case didn't take a long time but apparently, writing report about it surely did.

It was already eight thirty and he was still on the street and not at the kindergarten and he was feeling horribly guilty. He had left Nanami-san the day before and then he was late so of course, he would feel guilty, he understood well how tiring it was to look after the kids alone.

…And certainly, it wasn't because he was sure he missed the morning meeting with a certain someone, no, definitely not.

But when he reached the kindergarten, when he saw the kids singing happily alongside with his could-be twin and Nanami-san was smiling from ear to ear, he felt a small smile tugged at his lips.

The woman was the first to notice him, "Ah! Shinichi-kun." She greeted as Shinichi stepped inside the classroom, the little kids cheered ass they saw their beloved teacher.

He nodded at her, "I'm so sorry, I got caught up a bit…"

Nanami-san laughed, "Oh, was it another case?" and she shot him an understanding look when he ducked his head in embarrassment.

"It's okay, Kuroba-kun here offers to help," as soon as his name was said, Kaito suddenly appeared before Shinichi with a rose.

"Ah, good morning, sensei~!" Kaito greeted happily, making the rose disappear when Shinichi made no move to take it.

"…Why are you here?" his eyes automatically flicked to Kairi, who was pouting for some reasons. "Shouldn't you be at the café?"

"Nah, apparently my boss decides to close the café for the day," the other shrugged carelessly then winked, "We get to spend today together, aren't you happy?"

Shinichi merely rolled his eyes but his smile was enough of an answer for Kaito.

And he just knew that that day was going to be great.

…

"Sensei!" Kairi raised her hand eagerly, "I need help with my picture!"

Shinichi looked up from Ayumi's picture to smile at Kairi apologetically, "Sorry, Kairi, I'm helping Ayumi."

The small girl pouted then shot Kaito a childish glare when the young father chimed in, "Yes~! How about I help you instead?"

"No way!" Kairi shook her head rapidly then at Kaito's pointed look, she added sullenly, "…But thanks for offering help."

"That's my girl," Kaito nodded, pleased while Nanami-san and Shinichi looked back and forth in amusement.

After that, Kairi continued to work on her coloring picture lazily while looking at Shinichi with big puppy eyes every now and then, making Kaito roll his eyes and Shinichi shake his head in amusement.

Then much to the young father's horror, Shinichi carved in and Ayumi didn't seem to mind when he smiled at her and stood up to walk over to Kairi's desk.

"Now, now, what do you need my help with?" he asked and the small girl beamed.

"I'm just wondering what color I should use for the chicken."

And Kaito's jaw dropped to the floor when Kairi gave her beloved sensei a kiss on the cheek to thank for helping her as he suggested using orange.

Then, as Shinichi moved to help another kid, two pairs of indigo eyes locked and Kairi smirked victoriously.

…

Keiko looked between the father and daughter funnily as she kept on cleaning the ice cream shop. It was her turn that week and the Kuroba had stopped by that late afternoon, Kaito with a sullen look and Kairi with a beaming one.

They had decided to stay and chat with her through the last hour of her shift and even offering to help her clean up before closing, Keiko just knew that something was happening.

Kaito was silently helping her moving the chairs back into their places while Kairi humming to herself while licking on her free ice cream happily, her little legs dangled to the beat of her humming.

When she caught Kaito glancing at her, Kairi grinned widely while holding up a victory sign.

…And Keiko had got enough, of the sulking vibes from Kaito clashed violently against Kairi's happy ones, that was it.

"…Okay!" she clasped her hands together loudly to get the two's attention, "While I appreciate your help, which I know I will have to repay with free ice creams later, please stop fighting."

And it was enough for the young father to explode. Kaito wrinkled his nose then pointed at Kairi, "I can't believe it!"

"I so can!" the girl beamed.

"You kissed him!"

"Oh yes, I did. His skin is smooth, you know."

Keiko's shoulders visibly dropped as she watched them bite each other, sighing, the blond continued her cleaning. All she could do was waiting, yes, waiting for the fight to calm down. She understood them too well, once they got whatever that was the reason for their fight- which was always silly and non sense, they would make up.

And she was right.

"…Well, it's a tie then," Kairi declared after a moment of glaring battle with her own father.

Kaito huffed, "You bet. Next time I won't go easy on you."

Kairi's eyebrows immediately furrowed together, "I never need you to go easy on me. We agreed on playing fair and square."

And they glared at each other for another moment before they both turned their heads toward Keiko, who instantly put her guard up.

"…" they continued to stare at her and Keiko tried, she really did, to resist the double puppy looks…but apparently, she couldn't.

"…Alright, alright, I'll add extra chocolate syrup…To celebrate…for what I don't even know."

And the Kuroba beamed.

…

"…I still can't believe it," Kaito complained loudly while fanning himself with his hand and Kairi was particularly melting from the heat of the hot summer night as she perched on his shoulders, hands gripped her father's messy locks tightly to steady herself.

"…We're over that already, daddy," Kairi bit back then she released a soft whimper, "…I think I'm gonna die…It's so hot!"

"Don't be silly, mistress…" Kaito groaned, "I'm the one who has to carry five ice creams and twenty kg…And the one who's gonna die…is me," and he made a strangling noise which Kairi giggled in respond.

Dropping her chin on the top of Kaito's head, Kairi chimed playfully, "…But I guess I'm not going to…at least not until I get to sleep with sensei…" and she sighed happily, "Cuddling with him must be nice…"

"…I'm wound, little mistress," Kaito gasped mockingly, "Am I that bad of a cuddle? Beside," he added with a smirk even though she couldn't see it, "I'll be cuddling with him and you can go snuggle to your stuffed bear."

That earned him a hard yank on his hair, which made him wince.

"…Finally," Kaito then breathed out in relief as he finally reached the top of the staircase that led to the apartment.

"…I wonder what senei's doing right now…" Kairi wondered out loud absently and Kaito grinned- seven more steps to go.

"…Possibly taking a shower?"

And the small girl burst into giggling as she buried her nose into his messy locks, "Look who's the pervert!"

Kaito laughed heatedly along with his daughter, their joint laughter echoed faintly in the hallway. And then, they finally reached the door.

Which led to another problem.

"I forgot the key," Kaito stated, blinking at the lock where a keyhole was blinking right back at him.

"And?" Kairi asked offhandedly as she dangled a think metal wire in front of Kaito's face.

The young father grinned brightly, "Good job! Never forget your pick locking tool!"

"I learn from the very best~!" Kairi replied cheerfully.

But then, as Kaito was about to fix the wire into the lock, he paused, "…Would you mind a sleep over tonight?"

The small girl blinked before realization washed over her face, a wide grin that matched Kaito's tugged at her lips.

And without another word, tiredness forgotten as Kaito spun on his heels and ran off with Kairi cheered on him to go faster.

…

"We're locked out~!" the Kuroba said cheerfully from their seats on the sofa in the Kudo mansion and Shinichi sweat dropped as he handed them two glasses of water.

"So I hope you don't mind us crashing here one night?" Kaito asked, looking up hopefully and Shinichi rolled his eyes.

"As if I can just kick you out," he smiled, plopping down on the opposite seat.

"Oh great~!" Kairi cheered, "Can we have a sleepover? Please, sensei?"

The detective/teacher only shrugged, "I have no objection."

At that, both father and daughter cheered loudly as they shot up, Kairi running up the stairs for some reasons and Kaito quickly pushed the sofa sideway, making some space. And the owner of the house only watched in amusement.

After a moment, Kairi returned with some blankets- that Shinichi realized as his blankets, to use as futons, and pillows- that Shinichi was also sure were from his bed.

"…Do I want to know how you know where my room is?" he asked as Kairi skipped past him over to Kaito.

"Not really sensei," the girl grinned, "And just to assure you, I'm not a stalker."

"…Right," the detective nodded slowly, watching Kairi and Kaito lay the blankets out on the floor. Then he glanced up at the clock that was hang on the wall, "But isn't it too early to go to bed? It's only eight thirty."

"Of course not," Kaito nodded happily, "We're watching some movies first," he nodded toward the TV, "Do you have any movies? Anything is fine…As long as it's not some kind of M-rated."

Shinichi stood up, "I have some…Some Sherlock Holmes movies, I think."

And Kaito laughed, glancing at Kairi victoriously, "Oh, that's okay."

…

Just like he had predicted, Kaito smirked as he stroked Kairi's hair absently, his daughter was snoring quietly as she pillowed on his thigh.

The room was dark, the only light was from the TV, and Kaito glanced side way to see that Shinichi was yawning. Then as if feeling Kaito's eyes on his, Shinichi looked over at him, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"…It's late, we should go to sleep," the young teacher murmured, his eyes flicked down at Kairi's sleeping face, "The movie sucks anyways."

"Oh?" Kaito blinked, "Isn't Holmes your idol?"

"Yes, he is," Shinichi nodded, "But I prefer the books to the movies."

As Kaito shrugged, Shinichi turned off the movie via the remote control.

And when the room was finally basked in the darkness and they were laying side by side with a soundly sleeping Kairi tucked in between, the young father whispered.

"…Thanks. For yesterday, I mean," he said without looking over at Shinichi, indigo eyes stared up at nothing.

"…Well, it's no problem."

"…Still," Kaito sighed, "You know, I've always been lost...I don't know what I'm supposed to do and I would have gone to her grave…"

Silence.

"…But you never," Shinichi's quiet whisper broke the heavy silence soon enough.

"…Yeah, because he would be there."

"…Nakamori-keibu?"

"Mh. Kairi told me once…he always brings her to lunch then to her grave and they would just sit in silence then leave…"

"…"

"…She said he had told her stories about her once…"

"…"

"…Well…Goodnight."

"Night…"

xxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxx

Too little Shinichi in this eh? There's still drama left ^^. I guess this story will be about seven chapters or eight or nine at best…Either ways, I think it will never hit ten chapters :3.


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning**: OOC-ness?, choppiness and AU and my shitty English- despite that someone often told me my English wasn't shitty, I know it is.

**Disclaim**: I own not thing…but can I say that I own Kairi? Even when she's just a de-aged and gender-bent Kaito? *hopeful eyes*

**A/N**:…So yeah, I thought cut off some works could help me update faster but well…Uhm, I'm so sorry! I tried to get this out as fast as I could but apparently, I couldn't when every single word I typed out just seemed so…stupid, and off.

But well, thank you all for being patient ^^! I am grateful for it. Really! Hope you enjoy this chapter then!

…

_Chapter 6: The Haunting Past._

…

_He was feeling lonely…who wouldn't? After all, his best friend had just confessed that she loved him and he couldn't love her back because he was gay and then, she decided that she needed sometime to get herself back. Thus, they had decided not to meet each other for sometimes._

…_and he missed her terribly. She had been the only one to stick with him all the time, going through everything with him and generally, being one of his most beloved women in the world, how could he not miss her?_

_Yes, he might not love her like she wanted him to, but that certainly didn't mean he loved her any less, damn it…_

_The boy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he walked hastily to school._

_And that was when he saw him. Walking hand in hand with her._

…

It had been two weeks after that sleep over, Kaito smiled to himself as he carried the drinks out for the customers, and it had been two lovely weeks.

The three of them had continued to hang out after school hours- ice creams, the parks, bookstores or just going for a walk.

It felt nice, Kaito sighed happily then shot his co-worker a wink as she raised an amused eyebrow at him, they were just like a family…if little mistress would just back off.

And that thought turned his smile into a strange one- a smile that was between amused and annoyed. The father and daughter had been carrying on their war over the clueless teacher and as fun as it had been, it was starting to get annoyed.

…especially when the reason of the war knew nothing and he showed no sign that he was affected by any of them or he liked any of them better. At that, Kaito sighed again, the detective/teacher was cute when he was all clueless but alas, could he be any more obvious? He was a detective for God's sake!

And it struck him, Kaito nearly dropped the tray he was carrying as the fact hit him hard.

…maybe the young teacher knew, understood everything but he chose not to react because he found the whole thing amusing? Or maybe because he was too kind to reject them? And maybe he wasn't even gay- arg, another point for little mistress, he told them that he had had a girlfriend once after all.

Another sigh, Kaito wrinkled his nose, he was being stupid, maybe he should just ask the young teacher. And whatever Shinichi would say to him...he hoped they could still be friends.

…Now…how to ask Shinichi about that, uhm, rather sensitive question…

"Kuroba!" a female voice shouted, starling Kaito out of him formulation.

Turning his head toward the voice, he saw his co-worker, Kiryu walked bristly over to him with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Yes, Kiryu-dear?" he asked sweetly, keeping a grin on his face.

Snatching the tray in his hands, Kiryu shot him a pointed look before starting to push him out of the door.

"Go, go, go, go," she chanted while kept pushing him, "Go see that teacher if you miss him that much, you lovesick boy!"

"What?" he asked in confusion once he was outside of the café and Kiryu stood with a hand on her hip.

"You have that stupid, lovesick then hopeless expression on your face for far too long," the girl said, "If you could actually get anything done like that, I swear my paycheck last month wouldn't have got cut off."

Kaito looked offended, "That was your fault for snapping at that customer! Why are you making it sound like it was my fault?"

She waved her hand, rolling her eyes, "Whatever, just go."

"...Can you really handle everything here?"

"What? Have some faith on me!"

"…Are you sure I can just go and not give you 10% of my paycheck this month?"

"…"

"…I knew it," Kaito laughed then shook his head. Kiryu was also a college student like him but she needed money more than him, partly because of her habit of spending her money, "…Okay, okay, I'll go now. But if you scare off the customers then boss decides to fire both you and me off, I'm taking your baby~."

"No! No touching my baby!" she screeched, "I spent five years to earn enough money for it!"

Grinning, Kaito took her hand, "Then be a good girl and actually serve the customer instead of arguing with them."

And he placed a car key into Kiryu's palm before running off.

The girl continued to stand there for another minute before shaking her head, muttering to herself while placing her key into her back pocket, where it belonged to before someone took it without her knowing.

Damn Kuroba and his thieving skill…

…

It was playing time again and the kids were being really cute and less annoying than they had been. That left Kaito with enough time to ready himself mentally. Even little mistress seemed to lay down for that day since she was happily playing wrestling with some of her friends and got carried away, not once since he had arrived at the kindergarten had she interrupted him and Shinichi.

And the reaction wasn't quite what he had expected. At all.

"…Huh?" Shinichi blinked, the cup of coffee was half way to his lips when his-could-be-twin asked him that question while staring at him unblinkingly.

"…Well, just answer it," Kaito grinned then scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "…I'm just curious and well, sorry if it offends you somehow…"

"It's okay," the detective/teacher smiled, gulping down one large gulp as he considered the question.

"I don't really know," finally, he shook his head, "I mean, I never really think about relationship and all. I told you I had had a girlfriend once, didn't I?" and he paused, looking at Kaito questioningly and when the other nodded, Shinichi continued.

"She was my childhood friend and the first as well as the last relationship I had with anyone."

Shinichi breathed in, "I don't know, but after her, I just don't think of going out with anyone…"

"So…how did it happen? Why did you guys break up?" Kaito asked curiously. A part of him was scolding him for asking such private question but another part of him reasoned that they had known each other for nearly two months already…and he had already poured his life story to Shinichi and so…that question would be fine, no?

Just as Shinichi opened his mouth to answer- and he didn't look a slightest uncomfortable, Kaito took it that things were simple, some kid started to cry…Nice, Kaito made a face- great timing, kid.

"Sorry," shooting Kaito an apologetic look, Shinichi stood up and made his way toward the kid.

Being left alone, Kaito gave a small sigh. It was worthless asking Shinichi…But at least, now he knew he had a chance, didn't he?

And that certainly made his day brighter even just a bit.

Then he was ready to go back to the café and use his charm on his boss, who would surely be mad at him and Kiryu because surely, that girl would never be able to handle the café alone.

"So, Shinichi!" he called loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth, "I'm going back to the café! See you later!"

Shinichi, who was wiping some dirt off the crying boy's face turned to look at him with a smile, "See you!"

As their eyes locked for a brief moment, Kaito ignored the kids' - especially Kairi's, curious looks and Nanami-san's knowing one.

With a grin, he snapped his fingers and from no where, a flock of white doves appeared, flapping and fluttering their wings beautifully.

And when they disappeared, Kaito was also gone.

Then there was a moment of silence…before the kids clapping wildly and Shinichi and Nanami-san could only shake their heads.

…

The kindergarten's bus took off, filled of children and laughter on it.

Only four people were left back.

"Why are you still here, Ayumi-chan?" Kairi cocked her head to one side, asking her friend curiously.

"Mom's picking me up today," the other little girl said happily, "We're going shopping together today."

"...Oh," Kairi mumbled back and she said nothing more. Ayumi glanced at her shyly then looked down at her hat uneasily.

"Ayumi-chan!" Nanami-san called, "Your mother is here, sweetie!"

The little girl looked up with a startle then ran out hurriedly with her hat gripped tightly in her grasp.

"Mom!" Ayumi squealed, jumping into her mother's arms and the woman smiled.

"Goodbye then, Higurashi-san," Ayumi's mother bowed slightly at Nanami-san then walked away with her daughter in her arms.

Shinichi watched Nanami-san called the other kids as their parents had come for them from his spot at the doorstep beside Kairi, who was clutching her own hat in her hand.

And it didn't take a detective to notice how longingly Kairi glanced at Ayumi and her mother, Shinichi mused as he glanced down at the small girl whose grin was firm on her face…and yet, the grin didn't reach her eyes, no, not at all.

Wordlessly, he pulled her closer to his side and the girl startled, looking up at him with wide eyes. When he only looked back with gentle blue eyes, her expression softened, the grin seemed realer and then she nestled against his side.

"You can go ahead and go home, Nanami-san," Shinichi called, getting the woman's attention to him.

Nanami-san frowned, "Thank you, Shinichi-kun, but my job is here to make sure all the kids' parents have come for them."

"Don't worry," Shinichi smiled, "I've got her and Kaito should come soon. You should go home and start making dinner for your family."

Nanami-san still looked uneasy but then, she shook her head, "Okay, but remember to lock the gate when you go," then she smiled at Kairi, "Good bye then."

"Bye bye~," Kairi grinned at her cheerfully in return while Shinichi only nodded.

And soon enough, the woman was gone.

"…Daddy's late," Kairi mumbled after a while, making Shinichi squeeze her small shoulder in reassurance.

"He'll come, just be patient."

"...Uhm."

"Hey, cheer up, Kairi," he said, looking at her completely, "Didn't Kaito say he'll take you to your grandma's house? And we all know how much you love going there."

The small girl immediately brightened up, "If only you come with us, sensei!" and when she sensed that he was going to refuse, a puppy look was turned on full force…she just knew her beloved teacher couldn't handle that, hadn't he told her and her father that the reason he was there was because of his mother's puppy look.

"…Uhm," he cleared his throat, "I don't think that's a good idea, Kairi."

"Please, sensei," she tried, "Daddy would love the idea and my grandma won't mind! Beside, grandma makes the best food in the world!"

"That's right!" another voice joined in, startling Shinichi and Kairi, "Mom said she'd like to meet you too!"

And when they turned to the source of the voice, Kaito was surely standing there, grinning widely.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at him while Kairi threw herself at her father happily, squealing all the while.

"Come on, Shinichi," Kaito said then added hastily when Shinichi looked like he was about to argue, "Please? For us?" and double puppy looks were on.

After a moment of battling with himself and the dejected, kicked puppy looks on the father and daughter's faces, Shinichi finally carved in.

Giving an annoyed sigh and the barest of a smile, he nodded and the Kurobas cheered.

…

…Almost over five years, he had gone for that long and yet, nothing really had changed.

The man smiled slightly, adjusting the strap of his message bag on his shoulder before looking around the neighborhood.

Everything looked almost exactly the same…and all of sudden, his light brown eyes narrowed when that familiar scenes took him on a trip into the past- the unwanted past, the mistake he had done.

But now, he was going to fix that mistake.

With a determinate look on his face, the man started to walk.

And just as he rounded a corner, a small child ran into his legs and the man looked down.

..Just to freeze as he looked straight into pools of endless indigo eyes.

"I'm so sorry, mister!" the little girl apologized with a toothy grin and he could only nod as she continued on her way.

And for a long moment, he could only stare at the spot where she had been just a moment ago.

…She had his eyes.

… _TBC …_

Who recognize Kiryu xD? In Forbidden, Kiryu was a boy…how the heck did he turn into a girl now…? I don't know how my brain works, at all.

And well! Welcome a new addition, dears~! Let's pick things up from here~!


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning**: confusion (?), clicheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~! AU, OOC-ness and my shiiiiiiiiiity English.

**Disclaim**: Nope~!

**A/N**:…Thank you guys for reading and reviewing ~^^! Thank you! Because I know last chapter was somewhat a slump and uneventful v^^.

Btw, Dada-chan, don't stop giving me cookies! You'll thank me later because I didn't make Haku-chan take that role~!

Enjoy~!

…

_Chapter 7: Coming Back._

…

…_The first thing he noticed that the other boy had violet eyes._

_Deep and warm violet eyes that seemed to see through him. And he got lost for a brief moment. He had always seen her with him but it was the first time he had ever seen him face to face._

_Her hand tightened around his and he jostled out of it to look at her questioningly._

_She was smiling but it looked forced and really fake, it made him frown. Then he turned to look at the other boy again who looked just as uncomfortable as she was. What were they to each other? Were they more than just best friends as he had always assumed? He wondered._

"_Uhm," and she spoke up, looking up at him, "Kaito, this is Ryuuchi…my boyfriend."_

_And he watched as the Kaito boy stiffened._

…

Bracing a hand against the wall to steady himself, the man gritted his teeth together.

That first time he saw that boy and his unforgettable violet eyes would never stop haunting him.

It was those eyes' fault.

And how he hated them.

But it wasn't time to let hatred consumed him, it was time for him to find the love of his life again.

And before he continued on his way, purple irises blinked down at a pair of brown contacts that he didn't know he dropped.

Bending down, he picked the contacts up.

…

"Look who it is!" a woman with short black hair cooed adoringly as she picked Kairi up and hugged the little girl tightly, "It's been so long since I last saw you, honey!"

The little girl only giggled delightfully as she hugged the woman back and planted a sloppy kiss on the woman's cheek.

"I missed you too, grandma~!" the small girl squealed before bracing her small hands on the woman's shoulders to pull herself away a little, "And guess who we bring home today!"

The woman pretended to think carefully for a moment before she beamed at Kairi, "Is it the teacher that you told me?"

Kairi looked awe, "How did you know?"

And the woman giggled, kissing her cheek, "Because I'm a Kuroba too, sweetheart."

Then she looked around, "Where are they? Your father and teacher?"

"They stopped at the shop to buy something but I missed you too much so I ran ahead!"

"Now, as much as I'm honored that you missed me that much," the woman frowned, "You shouldn't go alone. Does Kaito know that you went ahead?"

"…I think he knows. Sorry, grandma," the small girl did look guilty as she peeked at the woman with wide violet eyes, "I promise that won't happen again."

"There you are, Kairi," the woman looked up just when Kaito and another boy that looked a lot like him came into her view, "Hi mom," he greeted her brightly.

"It's nice to meet you, Kuroba-san," the other boy bowed, "I'm Kudo Shinichi."

"Oh, no need to be so formal, Kudo-kun," the woman smiled at him kindly, "I'm Kuroba Chikage." And not letting him have enough time to respond, the woman, Chikage, grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside with Kairi still perched on her hip.

"Come on in!"

And Kaito followed with an airy laugh as Shinichi stumbled after his mother.

…

It had been such a long time since her house was this noisy, Chikage smiled to herself as she watched Kaito explaining what happened in his photo album that he had dubbed "Great Kaito's Story"…well, she did organize the photos inside according to the time they had been taken after all.

And then, she would giggle when Kairi snatched the young teacher's attention to her own album and babbled cheerfully her own stories.

Then she realized, as amusing as it was to watch her beloved son and granddaughter fighting for Shinichi's attention which the young teacher seemed to notice but didn't comment on.

Chikage smiled before wiping her hand on her apron and calling Kaito.

Her son looked up with a confused expression but he stood up and walked into the kitchen nonetheless. Behind him, Chikage saw Shinichi looked after Kaito with a curious expression but he said nothing while Kairi was still talking cheerfully.

"What's wrong, mom?" Kaito asked once he was in the kitchen and Chikage smiled, "Set the table for me, will you?"

Kaito frowned at this, "Why me? Kairi'd love to do this," and as soon as he finished the sentence, a look of realization washed over his face as Chikage continued to smile patiently.

"So," and he grinned, "What do you think of him?" Kaito asked, walking over to the cupboard to take out the dishes and bowls.

Chikage hummed, still stirring the soup, "He's polite enough, nice and kind of endearing."

"I know you'd approve," Kaito laughed, setting the bowls and dishes on the table.

"But does he, you know, play for your team?" this time, she asked with seriousness in her voice, "Because you can't just force yourself on him, Kaito."

And she watched as he sighed, "I don't know, mom," his shoulders dropped as he slumped on the chair, "I hope he's bi at least. But you know, if anything, I'd still want to be friends. He's funny to be around." He ended with a smile and Chikage abandoned her pot to walk over, patting his head comfortingly.

"Well, how about I just ask him?"

"You'd do that?"

"Uhm, why not? I can just ask him what he thinks of you."

A moment of silence.

"You know what, mom?"

"I know."

"I still have to say it though. You're the best."

"But Kaito," Chikage spoke up again after a while, "If he turns out to be available and you're going to pursue him seriously, you'll have to tell him."

"I know, mom."

…

Dinner came and went quickly. It was spent with Kaito and Kairi still trying to fight for the young teacher/detective's attention until Chikage scolded both of them.

Then desserts time came, this time, fortunately, Kaito and Kairi were too busy fighting over the last piece of cake to bother Shinichi ("Oh no, Kuroba-san, they don't bother me." "I know they do, Kudo-kun." "…Well, maybe a bit.") and so, Chikage finally got time to talk to him.

"I know your mother, Kudo-kun," Chikage said, smiling cheerfully, "She was my husband's student for a while and I absolutely love your father's writing too. Can you possibly get his signature for me? I'm his fan!"

"Of course, Kuroba-san," Shinichi smiled but Chikage noticed how uneasy he was.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked worriedly, "I'm sorry but us Kuroba seem to come too strongly sometimes…"

Shinichi looked scandalized then he quickly waved his hands, "No, no, Kuroba-san, you aren't making me uncomfortable! It's just that I rarely, uhm, _just_ talk to people."

Oh, and the mother nodded understandingly. With his job, she knew the ones he talked to on daily basics were mostly polices, suspects and criminals.

"I understand, Kudo-kun." And she giggled a bit when he ducked his head in embarrassment.

"So," she continued, still smiling, "What do you think of Kaito?"

And he blinked, "He does come strongly all the time," Chikage raised her eyebrow in amusement at this, Shinichi continued, "But he's nice in his own twisted way, I guess."

The mother nodded in agreement, "His father did teach him to go after what he likes after all." Her eyes softened sadly.

"I'm sorry. Kuroba-san," the young teacher/detective said uneasily, feeling sad for the Kuroba, he really did. And Kaito…he snuck a glance over his shoulder- there Kaito was, with his daughter, still fighting with Kairi but now, the fight had turn out to be a tickling fight, which Kairi was losing dramatically as she shrieked with laughter when Kaito tickled her mercilessly.

"Well," Chikage let out a breath and then she was smiling again, "Do you like Kaito?"

"I do," Shinichi answered without hesitance, "He's a nice friend."

And Chikage smiled, because it was enough.

…

"Thank you for the meal," Shinichi bowed when he was at the door, his coat hang on his arm.

"It was nothing, Kudo-kun," Chikage smiled, "It would be really nice if you can drop by sometimes soon."

"Oh, I will, Kuroba-san. After all, your cooking is something that is hard to resist," Shinichi grinned back and Chikage giggled. He was finally comfortable around her and Chikage felt like that was something she should celebrate.

"A minute, sensei!" Kaito called from inside the house then soon enough, he ran out, "Let me walk you to the station."

And Shinichi only nodded because he knew full well that nothing he said could make Kaito stay home.

"I'm coming too!" Kairi cheered, jumping to get her coat which was hung at the door but Chikage stopped her.

"Sweetie, how about you stay home and help me doing the dishes?"

The little girl looked like she was being betrayed by her very own grandmother as she looked up at Chikage with wide eyes, "I- but grandma!"

Kaito grinned, bending down to ruffle her hair playfully, "Be a good girl and stay home, little mistress."

Kairi huffed but she dejectedly handed her coat back to Chikage nonetheless.

Shinichi smiled, "See you tomorrow then, Kairi."

"See you, sensei…" the small girl mumbled, watching mournfully as her father and teacher walking away.

…From her.

"Come on, sweetie, let's go inside," Chikage whispered softly, tugging at her hand gently and soon enough, the door was closed and they were inside.

For a moment, they just stood there silently. Until Chikage kneeled down to look into her granddaughter's eyes.

"Now, Kairi, is something wrong?" she asked worriedly and the small girl's eyes watered.

"…I don't want sensei to love daddy…Grandma, I-I don't want that…"

Now, that's the first. Chikage stared at her as the small girl tried to stop her hiccupping.

"…But why? I thought you like sensei?" she asked again attentively, gently wiping away Kairi's tears.

"…I do," she nodded rapidly then wiped her nose hastily, "But if sensei loves daddy and daddy loves sensei…then who will love me?"

And Chikage pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly. She listened as her granddaughter sobbed on her shoulder.

…Five years ago, as the rain pounding down, it was right at her doorstep that she and Kaito opened the door to a drenched and scared and teary Aoko. She was there as Kaito hugged Aoko tightly and promised her that everything would be okay, that he and Chikage would be there for her.

And right then, Kairi was just like her mother, just an insecure little girl.

Chikage hugged her tighter.

Xxx

**To D-chan**: Killer Doll will be continued right after I finish this baby ^^.

If you can't tell, I'm having trouble with writing Shinichi x.x. Because I wrote him too soft before but now, I want some manly Shin-chan. Then I read some manga again and he strikes me that he isn't oblivious in his love-life, he knows who he loves and all…So I'm really grouchy because he's too damn oblivious in my ficcies…But then again, he can be oblivious when someone likes him, right? In the manga, the lemon pie thing with that girl-I-don't-remember-her-name when he was still in middle school? Then Ayumi? And maybe Ai-chan too?

And before the traditional REVIEW~! Can someone recommend me some nice plot with cute art shounen ai mangas :D? I'm seriously needing my fix T^T.

Well, read and review ^^~!


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning**: my shitty English, OOC-ness, AU and everything that needs warning ^^.

**Disclaim**: Nope, I own nothing other than the plot.

**A/N**: Thank you guys for reading this ^^~! And being patient with me too ^^! So, here's the long-awaited chapter :D! Hope I haven't bored you all out yet...

...You know, I have a five-year-old niece...and I suddenly realize how mature Kairi is...she seems too calm! Right? 'Cause as I'm writing this, my niece is screaming and pulling at my hair to get me to play with her. Kids like me and I don't even know why x3.

...

_Chapter 8: Just Like Her._

…

The young father groaned as he changed the channel, it was only eight in the morning and he was bored out of his mind already. His body buzzed uncomfortably and his hands itched to do something- anything! But it was Sunday, and he was determinate to be lazy and not do anything- even calling Shinichi and talking and babbling to him, he decided that the detective needed a break too.

Sunday or to be exact, that Sunday, a rare day off the café's owner decided that he deserved (which he damn did), the day that Kaito both hated and loved.

Hated, because that mean that he couldn't see the young teacher/detective and the kids. Believe or not, he had grown to love the kids' adoring expressions when he showed them another trick. And really, he loved seeing his daughter playing among the children her age too, it was just that when she was laughing and babbling with her friends, she looked more like a child. Simply put, she was her age and he treasured every second of it…Not to mention, she wouldn't fight for the teacher's attention when she was distracted by her friends.

And loved, because that mean he got to lie on the bed and sleep(and it was these time that he wished he had bough a sofa but then again, that money could be used in more important things, like, little mistress' books and clothes) and just be lazy, not having to run around collect the bills and carry the trays and apologize and smile charmingly to one customer after another because Kiryu couldn't keep her temper in check…He was pretty sure in his job didn't require him to right all the wrongs Kiryu did but damn…That girl was like a sister to him.

He had decided to let little mistress sleep in too but just as he was flipping through the boring channels, Kairi bounced into the living room, dressing in one of her best unique dresses- that she chose by herself, of course, Kaito had to hide his snicker because she looked _unique_, as in, funny and ridiculous.

"Morning, daddy~!" she beamed at him and hopped over to kiss his cheek.

"Morning to you too, little mistress," he grinned back, pinching her chubby cheek playfully, making the small girl squeak and giggle.

"Sooooo," he drawled out, sitting up and letting Kairi climb on his lap, "Someone's got a date today huh?" and she nodded cheerfully, making her father raise an eyebrow.

"With," she said, grinning mischievously, her violet eyes twinkled in mirth as she craned her neck to look up at him, "Sensei~!"

And Kaito blinked, "Shinichi?"

"Yup!" then at his disbelieving look, Kairi laughed, "Actually, it's the Shounen Tantei's meeting," she explained happily, "And sensei agreed to be our...uhm, advisor?" she blinked then nodded to herself, "Yes, he said advisor."

"Since when did you join a detective club?" Kaito asked, sounding honestly surprised.

"Since I want to be a police woman when I grow up?" she offered, still grinning and his eyes widened.

"B-But I thought you wanted to be a famous magician!"

"I never said that!" she protested, eyebrows furrowed together, "I've always wanted to be a police!"

And silence fell as Kaito slowly picked her up to place her on the sofa then stood up.

"Daddy?" Kairi asked in confusion, "Where are you going?"

Kaito was still walking as he replied, not bothering looking back, "To my room," he stated, sounding gloomily, "And sulk and think what I have done wrong that makes you not want to follow my step."

And the small girl blinked, continuing to watch as her father reached the door to his room.

"Daddy! Wait! Don't go in there!" she called urgently and he paused at the door, back still turned to her, "Who will take me to the meeting?"

And instantly, he somehow managed to teleport back to the sofa and pulled Kairi into a bone-crushing embrace _and _wailed childishly.

"Waaaaaaahhh! What did I do wrong, little mistress? Am I not awesome enough to make you want to be like me?"

Kairi shrieked with laughter as she fought to push herself out of his embrace, "No! No! You're awesome! Daddy! You are! Lemme go!"

Her father released her but he was sniffing miserably, he was oblivious faking it, she knew, but damn, he had always been a great actor.

"Then why?"

Kairi smiled, patting his cheeks comfortingly, "Just because, daddy…" she said, burying her face into his chest, "…I want you to be the number one magician in the world, daddy…" the girl mumbled.

"So, I'm afraid that if I decided to be a famous magician, I'd be the number one, not you and I don't want that." She pulled back, grinning cheekily.

And Kaito laughed, hugging her once again, "That's my girl…" he sighed then said quietly, "Your mother…she wanted to be a police too."

"…I know."

Then they fell silent.

"So well," until Kaito decided to break it again, "When and where is the meeting?"

…

"Welcome!" Keiko shouted out cheerfully when the bell of the fast food shop jingled, signaling someone had entered the shop.

Unlike Kaito, she wasn't working for money because her parents had the college tuition all covered and she was working more for experience since she wanted to be a journalist after all! She needed all the experiences she could have. That was why she was working at a fast food shop in the morning and at ice cream shop in the afternoon then a cloth shop at night too…sometimes, Kaito wondered to her aloud if it was him or her that needed money more.

"Kei-neechan~!" a cheery voice beamed and Keiko brightened up.

"Oh~! Kairi-chan!" she wiped her hand on her apron even though they were completely clean.

Her friend followed soon after, a grin on his face as he sat on one of the stall, watching in amusement as his five-year-old daughter struggled to climb up the stall next to him.

Keiko chuckled then high-fived with her God-daughter as she succeeded in sitting on the stall properly.

"So, what have I done to own this honor visit?" she asked playfully and Kairi grinned up cheerfully.

"I have a date! But daddy said I can't go unless I've had breakfast," she explained and Keiko glanced over at Kaito, raising an eyebrow curiously. The young father grinned.

"Some sort of detective meeting actually, she decides she wants to be a police," he said then picked the menu up, flicking his eyes through the list, "I'll have a toast with butter, please. Oh, green tea too."

Keiko hummed in acknowledgment then turned to Kairi with a smile, "And you, Kairi-chan?"

The small girl beamed, "The usual, please!"

And the blond giggled, "A moment~!" then she was gone, to place their orders.

...

Shinichi watched with half-lidded eyes as his small group of detective wannabes played tag with each other while mentally deadpanning…not really mentally, you see, because his companion who could pass as his twin could see so clearly that he was bored out of his mind.

They were sitting at the park bench and watching as Genta sullenly closed his eyes and began to count while the others hurriedly finding a hiding spot, trying to suspend their giggles.

"What's with that face, Shinichi?" Kaito asked, glancing at the detective/teacher out of his eyes' corners.

Shinichi inhaled deeply then sighed, "…I should have seen this…"

"And what were you expecting?"

"…That they would sit and listen to me going on about what shape the blood would be in if the cause was a gun?" the detective said off-handedly and Kaito snickered.

"Seriously?"

"Well, this is a detective club," Shinichi finally looked at the young teacher and in his eyes were mirth, "…or what it's supposed to be anyways."

Then they stayed silently, enjoying the rare silence as Genta went around, looking for the kids and that said silence was broken when he cried out happily as he found Ayumi.

"But well…" Shinichi smiled softly as Genta happily pulled a Mitsuhiko out of his hiding spot…only Kairi hadn't been found yet, "If they really want to become detectives, I do hope they can enjoy this for as long as they can because…it's gonna be so much deaths. And blood."

Kaito stilled, feeling his breath caught at his throat as Shinichi whispered out the last part. He wanted, so badly, to hug the detective, to yell at him that he could always stop being a detective if it was that painful…

"But you can't stop," Shinichi, as if reading his mind because Kaito was sure as hell that he was only thinking, turned to him with a grin, "Because you'll die of guilt, knowing that you could have saved that person hadn't you been a coward."

And Kaito suddenly fell in love even more. His hand slowly moved to close around the detective's and he looked straight into the other's questioning eyes, saying nothing, didn't explain his action as he turned to look at the kids.

Silence then fell around them.

The kids were still looking for Kairi and Kaito felt a bit proud that she was that good.

And the proud feeling died instantly when a teary Ayumi ran to them and held out a badge.

"Sensei! Kairi-chan called," she said, ready to burst out crying, "And she said help!"

Kaito felt his body go cold, barely seeing Shinichi quickly pull something out from his pocket, in his mind were only Kairi, his precious daughter, and the word 'help'.

…TBC…

Oh shit…only two or three chapters left I think…hope you guys can stick with me until then ^^.

Please read and review if you want to know what'll happen next~!


End file.
